


And They Were Friends

by Anonymous



Series: Corpsekkuno by Anon [11]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Among Us, Anxiety, Depression, Fishnets, Flirting/Banter, Friendship, Gaming, Gen, Insomnia, Late Night Phone Calls, M/M, Misunderstandings, Sleep Deprivation, nursekkuno
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-16 15:41:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 14,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28584426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: What it says on the tin. A collection of snippets to hopefully cure writer’s block.
Relationships: Corpse Husband & Sykkuno (Video Blogging RPF), Corpse Husband/Sykkuno (Video Blogging RPF)
Series: Corpsekkuno by Anon [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2054433
Comments: 144
Kudos: 1166
Collections: Anonymous





	1. Chapter 1

Sykkuno blinked at his phone. He had a text from Corpse, which was a bit rare since they had just finished streaming with each other. All it said was ‘Which is better?’

Sykkuno’s brow furrowed in confusion as he clicked to open the text. Things began to make sense when he saw that there were two pictures attached. His eyes widened in surprise when he looked at the first--a picture of a hand and forearm, obviously Corpse’s from the rings and chipped black nail polish. The next picture was at a similar angle, only Corpse was wearing fishnet gloves. 

Sykkuno stared for a long moment. The gloves left his fingers bare, but the black pattern against his pale skin certainly made the photo more interesting. 

“Huh,” he said, flipping back and forth between the images a few times. Both were nice, but he thought he understood what Corpse meant. He wasn’t a really fashionable or aesthetic person, but the gloves suited Corpse really well. 

Sykkuno: you were right corpse im into it too! :)

Corpse: …..and when u say into it

Sykkuno: ?  
Sykkuno: it looks nice on yuo! very cool

Corpse: :)

Sykkuno: :)!

A thought popped into his head, and he smiled a bit. He wondered--had Corpse bought his diversion, or did he really think that Sykkuno wasn’t sure what he was referring to?

Before he can overthink it, he decides to troll a bit. Corpse is pretty fun to tease, he always gets really flustered. It would be better if Sykkuno could hear him, but he’s still curious about how the man will react.

Sykkuno: ive actually worn fishnets before

It was a couple of minutes before Corpse answered, this time.

Corpse: what

Sykkuno: i was kidding when i said i didtn know what they wre

Sykkuno: i didnt expect the revrse uno you cuaght me off guard

Corpse: you know im never 100% sure with u but i figured it was something like that :’)

Corpse: when did u wear them im curious now

Corpse: what occasion is special enough

Sykkuno: LOL idk about occasion

Sykkuno: i dressed up as a nurse for an OTV video and they offered a free months rent just to see me in the sexy nurse costume

Sykkuno: and i mean it was a lil uncomfotrable but not rly since were all friends nd free rent is free rent 

Corpse: alright Sykkuno how much do i need to paypal you for pics

Corpse: someone must have taken them right? 

Sykkuno: ? you wanna see the fishnets that badly or?

Corpse: or?

Sykkuno blinked down at the response in shock. He had not meant to say ‘or’. Or he had, but as a meme--he hadn’t expected Corpse to call him out on it. 

Oh Jesus, what could he even say to that?

He clicked off the app and into his photos, scrolling past the many pictures of Bimbus and memes he had saved.

Corpse: $250.00

Corpse: $500.00

Corpse: $1,532.00

Sykkuno exhaled in relief as the moment passed.

Sykkuno: lol youre not sending me any money corpse 

A text arrived from Corpse just as Sykkuno hit send.

Corpse: am I making you uncomfortable?

Sykkuno: no ur fine i know ur joking corps

Sykkuno: a lil awkward but im lookin to see if i can find a pic withotu asking scarra or lily

Corpse: okay, okay

Corpse: mentally preparing myself

Preparing himself? That really wasn’t necessary. He would probably get a good laugh out of how silly Sykkuno looked and be done with it. 

Sykkuno: too much hype youll be disappointed

Corpse: impossible

Eck. He was blushing--still, or again? Sykkuno inhaled and selected the picture that Poki had sent to him a while ago. Her ‘favorite’. 

It was the only one he had, and not one he looked awkward in, surprisingly enough. They had coaxed him into standing still for a whole two minutes before he got too embarrassed and made them swear no more photos. And that the photos would never leak, of course.

He hesitated over the send button, but did it anyway. It was just Corpse, he wouldn’t make fun of him too much. 

The photo was a full bodied shot of him leaning against the kitchen counter in the old OTV house. He was wearing red pumps, black fishnet thigh-highs, a white crop top lined in red with a medical symbol in the middle, and a skirt that had barely managed to cover his ass and left most of his legs exposed. The red stethoscope hanging around his neck matched his painted red lips, and his eyes were neatly lined in what Poki had called a ‘pin girl wing’. There was a nurse hat sitting on the counter behind him that had been unwilling to stay in his hair as it was, which led to the one hand that was ruffling the back of his hair in an attempt to fix the damage it had done. His other hand was braced on the counter behind him, which made his elbow stick out awkwardly. 

Corpse’s response came quickly.

Corpse: ur wearing eyeliner

Oh, that was right, Corpse wore eyeliner didn’t he? 

Sykkuno: and lipstick yeah

Sykkuno: poki really went all in, she+brodin even bought the heels. no clue how they new my size MonkaS

Corpse: you shaved

Corpse: the fishnets look really nice

Sykkuno blinked, unsure what to say to that. He decided to ignore the implied compliment completely and address the shaving. Lily had shown up the night after he agreed with a women's razor and her favorite shaving cream, then watched him shave the bottom of his leg to make sure he was doing it correctly and wouldn't cut himself before leaving him to it.

Sykkuno: yep i figured it would look weird without

Corpse: u look sexy

 _What?_ Well, that was kind of the point, Sykkuno supposed. It was a sexy nurse outfit. But Corpse had gone from saying the outfit looked nice--the _fishnets_ \--to saying that _he_ did.

He groaned, his embarrassment only increasing by the heat he could feel gathering in his face. He had set out to tease Corpse a little, and this is how it ended up?

Sykkuno: um thank you

Corpse: is that weird to say?

Sykkuno swallowed. Yeah, kind of. But Sykkuno knew how Corpse meant it--perhaps it wasn’t weird to say, but weird to _hear._ His lack of self-esteem made it hard to believe people were telling the truth when they complimented him. He still needed to work on that, but… 

Sykkuno: i don’t think so? its nice ofu

Corpse: and true

Oh God, he needed to stop. 

Sykkuno: corpsse ur enbbaessdunv me

Sykkuno: embarrassing*

It took a moment for Corpse’s response to come, but when it did it was a picture. Oh Jesus, not the ‘I am Looking respectfully’ meme. That had never applied to him before.

Corpse: LOL

Sykkuno: oh jesus

Sykkuno: pls

Corpse: ;)

Sykkuno sent a keymash. Then followed up with,

Sykkuno: anywayyyyyyyyyy

Sykkuno: excited for new rust server? :)

Corpse: excited to switch pilots mid flight

Corpse: all our passengers are going to feel so safe

Sykkuno: yep we wll protect them for sure! 

Sykkuno: but mayb we should get insurance on the plane jic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We all know you know what fishnets are, Sykkuno. You've mentioned them before :')


	2. The Best Voice (Among Us Gaming)

“Hey Sy, can you test something out for me?”

“Hm?” 

“Call Jack by his name when he comes by. I think he’ll like it.”

“You think? Oh, but maybe I should ask his permission to use it first…” 

“No, no, trust me, it’s fine. I think saying it could even save your life.”

“Oh! You think he’s the--”

“Sykkunie!” Jack says cheerfully, a beat before he steps into their view. Sykkuno blinks. 

“Oh, uh, hi Sean!” 

Jack’s lime character stops moving abruptly. “Oh,” he says softly. “Oooh. Say that again?” 

“Say--? Oh, Sean. Uh, you want me to say your name? Sean, Sean, Sean.”

“Wow. I love it,” Jack said, voice a bit lower than normal as he leaned into the mic. “Should I say your--”

“Oh, um, not on stream please,” Sykkuno said awkwardly. “But otherwise whenevers, um, fine. If you want?”

The lights sabotage went off. “Alright, just setting the lighting for our date,” Jack said. 

“D-date?” Sykkuno laughed. “I was actually here with Corpse first…”

“Heck yeah, we got our thruple,” Jack laughed.

“W- _ what? _ ” Sykkuno shrieked, just as Corpse said, “Sean, Sean, Sean...” before trailing off teasingly. 

“Oh God,” Jack said. “Wait, which of you says it better?”

“Sy,” “Corpse,” they answered at the same time. 

“Wha--aww, thanks Corpse. But everyone knows you have the better voice,” Sykkuno praised, smile audible. 

“Mmnn no, yours is much more soothing,” Corpse disagreed. 

“Not rea--Alright, Sean, how about this,” Sykkuno said, jiggling around in place. “You kill whoever says your name worse. Then you win!”

“Oh? Okay, interesting, interesting. I have a kill button, but who should I choose…” 

“Wait, wait,” Corpse giggled. “Obviously it’ll be you, Sykkuno--” 

“I don’t think so,” Sykkuno disagreed. “Sean. See, that just sounds normal.”

“Hmmm,” Corpse hummed. “Sean. Sean.”

“Oooh, chills,” Jack said. “Go lower.” 

“The way he says it naturally isn’t enough?” Sykkuno asked, the surprise evident in his tone. 

“You’re right, you’re right Sykkunie. Alright, say ‘I love you, Sean,’ and you win, Corpse.” 

“Ummm…” Corpse started, just as Sykkuno gasped. “You can’t tell Corpse what to say!” 

“But--” Jack started.

Sykkuno hit the kill button.

**Defeat** appeared on Jack and Corpse’s screen.

“Um?” Corpse said.

“I thought it was Corpse?!” Jack exclaimed.

The sound of Sykkuno’s giggling came through loud and clear. “S-sorry for dragging that one out, guys,” he told the lobby. “I just--how am I supposed to choose who to kill in that situation, right?” 

“Alright, watch out,” Rae drawled. “If Corpse says he loves anybody but Sykkuno, he’ll kill you!” 

“Wha- _ what? _ ” Sykkuno exclaimed. “No, no, I--it was just a line, guys! A line! Corpse can say whatever he wants!” 

The sound of Corpse’s giggles broke through the ruckus of a shouting lobby again. “H-holy shit Sy. You’re insane, man, I, I had no clue.” 

“What happened to being bad at this?” Tina complained. “I didn’t even sense it this time! Sykkuno, you sliced me!” 

“Uuuh,” there was a pause. “I. I’d do it again, too!”

The lobby either gasped or laughed hysterically in response as Tina spluttered back at Sykkuno. 

“Muah-ha-ha?” Sykkuno asked. The laughter doubled. Corpse banged on his table. “Oh Jesus, are you guys alright?”

“Oh whatever, it was worth it,” Jack laughed. 

“We’ll always have Mira,” Corpse agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on Sean melting when Corpse said his name.


	3. We're Both Fives (Late Night Phone Call)

“Sykkuno?” Corpse says after a while of mutual silence, their breathing the only sound cutting through the night. 

“Mm?”

“Do you…”

Sykkuno turned onto his side to squint at his phone, a bit confused by Corpse’s sudden trepidation. “Do I?”

“Do you have a crush on Rae?”

“H-huh?” Sykkuno asked, voice cracking. “Um, I--where’s this coming from?”

“You just--you always kinda gravitate towards her when we play, I guess. You--you talk about her a lot, too. Not that--I mean, it’s not my business, if you do, I was--I was just, uh, wondering, but you don’t have to say if you’re not--”

“No, Corpse, Corpse, it’s fine,” he said quickly, hearing the tension and anxiety growing in Corpse’s voice. “I was just surprised. I guess I can kinda see where, uh, where you’re coming from--b-but no, I don’t. Honestly I just think that she’s really fun to play with. Besides Lily she was one of my first friends, and we’ve been playing long enough together that I’m really comfortable with her. Plus she’s fun to mess with, like Tina. I mean, you know what she’s like--oh, unless you’re asking because you’re… uh, interested...”

“What do you mean by that?” Corpse asked, and he sounded a bit breathless. Did he actually have a crush on…? 

“Um, nothing! If you like Rae, I’m not--like, competition, or anything. Obviously,” he laughed self-deprecatingly. 

“No,” Corpse said quickly. “No, no, no. I don’t--I mean, she’s cool, but I’m not into her or anything.”

“Oh.” 

“Mmm.”

“Um, o-okay.” There was another pause, and then Sykkuno’s mouth moved without his permission. He was so used to saying all his thoughts aloud while streaming that the habit sometimes carried over, even after the camera turned off. “Is it weird that I’m kinda glad?”

Corpse made another deep, humming noise, and said, “How so?’

Sykkuno took a moment to consider that. “I’m not really sure why. I think--I might have been jealous, if you guys started dating.”

“Jealous?” Corpse sounds very interested, now, and Sykkuno realizes what that sounds like, and buries his face in his hands, embarrassed. 

“Not like… I don’t know, I. I just don’t want--things are so nice now. I’m--I think you know I’m not the most secure guy,” he admits softly, and the darkness of his room is the only thing that allows him to admit this vulnerability. “I do--I get jealous, sometimes, when I think… when I think I might be pushed aside, or replaced. It’s stupid, but unfortunately emotions aren’t really something that can be helped.” 

“No, they can’t,” Corpse said. Sykkuno couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Was he annoyed that Sykkuno was blurting out random things? Surprised that Sykkuno wasn’t a bundle of pure positivity like everyone always joked? Disappointed in him?

It didn’t really matter; it wouldn’t really change anything. Only Sykkuno found that what Corpse thought of him mattered a surprising amount.

“I’d be jealous, too,” Corpse said suddenly. 

“Hm?”

“Of the theoretical couple. You and Rae.” 

“Ah. So we feel the same,” Sykkuno said, relaxing a bit, a smile tugging at his lips. 

“Guess so,” Corpse said softly. “I’m glad.” 

Sykkuno laughed, just a little, at the thought of Rae overhearing this conversation. She’d probably be pissed that either of them would assume she would even go for them. “Me too. But realistically, she’d never go for either of us. We’re fives, but she’s a twenty.”

“The twenty is sexy,” Corpse laughed.

“But the five is hot,” Sykkuno responded with a giggle.

“The five is hot,” Corpse agreed fondly. And if he sounded a little too serious, and if Sykkuno was blushing a bit--well, the darkness of his room wouldn’t tell. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's just correct Sykkuno accidentally implying that Corpse wasn't a five, okay? :')


	4. He's a Horror Narrator, Sykkuno (Discord Call)

Sykkuno tapped his chin. Why was Rae in a discord server all by herself? 

Well, he had nothing else to do. Maybe she wanted somebody to talk to? He clicked on.

“Hey Rae, what’s up?”

“Oh, Sykkuno! Uh, nothing, just chillin’. I’m probably about to play some more Rust.”

“That sounds fun,” Sykkuno said agreeably. “The loot at the gas station should be respawning soon, so I’ll be hopping on too.”

“Nice, nice,” she said, sounding a little distracted. “I’m scrolling through Twitter right now, and you know what I keep seeing?” 

“Uhhh,” Sykkuno hadn’t been on Twitter since he finished streaming, so it could be anything. “Nope. Is it something bad, or?” 

Instead of answering directly, Rae said, “Sykkuno, do you know what kind of videos Corpse posted before Among Us?”

Why did that feel like a trap? Sykkuno frowned a bit. 

“Um, not really. I’m pretty sure I subscribed after he posted his first or second Among Us video, but I didn’t look back at his previous content. “

“He was a horror narrator.”

Sykkuno blinked in surprise. “R-really? Oh! I mean, that kind of suits him.”

“You--” Rae made a strangled noise, which meant she was either stifling laughter or getting frustrated with him. Sykkuno hoped it was the former. “When we were streaming earlier you asked him if he’s ever read stories to people before, and that’s literally what he did for years. The clip is all over Twitter.”

“Oh. I mean, it’s fine, I’ll just look stupid then. I guess--he was just memeing when he said not ever? I mean, Corpse hasn’t brought it up before, and I don’t know. It feels weird stalking his past content? I didn’t do that when I met you or Toast. We just played games together and became friends. The other way around seems like it’s maybe not--what’s the word? Organic?”

Rae made a sound of consideration. 

“I mean, okay, yeah, that’s fair. I just--how did you not know this?! Sykkuno, you’re literally out here simping for men you don’t even know!”

“Hey, I-I know him! We’re friends… I’m pretty sure. You don’t have to know everything about someone to be friends, right? Besides, Corpse--he’s kinda private.”

“Yeah, which is why I expected you to know the information that’s actually public about him,” Rae returned. “You’re kind of hopeless.”

There was a long pause, and when Sykkuno’s voice came back it was small. “So what, Rae, do you think I’m a-a bad friend? To Corpse?”

Good Lord, he actually sounded concerned. Rae rolled her eyes hard-- _damn him, she was trying to stop that_ \--and sighed loudly for his benefit. “No, Sykkuno, I don’t think you’re a bad friend. I just don’t think you’re as dense as you act sometimes, and then you pull something like this.” 

“W- _what?_ How is… how am I being dense?”

“Well, maybe dense is the wrong word, but--you’re so unaware of huge stuff sometimes! It’s crazy! Corpse is our friend, and that’s awesome, but he’s also blown up in a huge way as an artist and a YouTuber, and you’re over here acting like you know nothing about him besides what you guys talk about in public lobbies?”

“I mean, we, we text sometimes,” Sykkuno offered weakly. “But it’s, I mean, it’s pretty casual, not, like…”

Rae let out another noise Sykkuno couldn’t quite decipher. It was far from pleased. “You depress me, Sykkuno. You’re giving me an ulcer. Come on, come on, let’s--let’s play Rust! I want to murder some people. You’re--I have bloodlust now! Let’s do this!”

“O-okay, okay,” Sykkuno said, frowning at his monitor. “Let’s play. Um. Talk to you in game, then.”

Sykkuno’s screen was loading Rust when he heard Rae leave the discord room. He didn’t think anything of it, his second monitor turned off since it was past one in the morning, when he heard the sound of someone joining.

“Hey Rae, I’m gonna loot the gas station first so you can start your, uh, your murder spree without me.” 

There was a familiar humming sound, and Sykkuno jolted, alt-tabbing to prove what his ears were telling him. 

Corpse was in the room with him.

“Pvp’ing in Rust now, Sykkuno? You’re a new man.”

“Oh, uh, hi Corpse. I was--maybe? I might just, um, give Rae’s opponents guns, to see, see what happens, you know.

“I see, I see,” Corpse said. “It’s--late.”

“Oh yeah, I guess so,” Sykkuno agreed. “I think New Years Eve messed up Rae’s schedule, she’s usually asleep by now.”

Corpse hummed again.

“And you?”

“Oh,” Sykkuno laughed awkwardly. “You, uh, you caught me, I’m a little addicted. 

“Yeah, you, you said yesterday you and Toast were playing until four or five in the morning?”

“Mm-hmm. I don’t usually play all at once, I just come in for a few minutes when loot respawns, but we went a little overboard the other night. It was a lot of fun, but I regretted it when I was scrambling to get ready for the stream,” he laughed at himself a little. “Sorry for whining at you, by the way. I know setting up lobbies is a lot of trouble, so I’m really glad you invited me.” 

“Oh, um, yeah--I’ll, I’ll always invite you, Sykkuno. And you didn’t--” he laughed a little, and the sound made something light up in Sykkuno’s chest like it always did. He smiled at Corpse’s discord icon as it lit up, before catching himself and re-opening Rust to full screen. “I didn’t mind you sulking a little. You woke up just to play with me, right?"

“I did,” Sykkuno agreed. “I’m here for whatever you want.” 

“Uhhh, oh?” Corpse sounded confused. Did he not know that Sykkuno would do basically anything if he asked?

“Mhmm,” Sykkuno confirmed. There was a comfortable silence for a moment before Sykkuno heard what he assumed was the sound of Corpse flipping his knife. He had mentioned he did that when he got anxious. 

“Hey Corpse, can I ask you something?”

There was a brief pause. “Yeah, go ahead.”

“Do--do I make you uncomfortable?”

Corpse made a noise in the back of his throat, low and startled. “I--no, you--you don’t.”

Sykkuno let out a breath. “Oh. That’s good--I’m, I’m glad."

“Why… did you think that you do?”

“I don’t know,” Sykkuno said. “Or, well, I guess I do, just… you, um. I feel like you have an easier time, talking to everybody else? Like with Ash, you guys have only recently started hanging out and talking, but it’s not as--I don’t know. Maybe I’m misinterpreting, or it’s because she’s a lot less awkward than me, so she’s probably just easier to talk to?”

“No, you’re--I know--I get what you’re saying. I just, uhh. Get a little nervous around you, I guess.”

“Oh,” Sykkuno said softly, sounding disheartened. “Sorry, I guess I’m kind of a weird person to talk to. Um.”

“No,” Corpse disagreed quickly. “Nah, that’s not what I meant. Just. I. I like you, and I care what you think. We’re--we’ve got pretty, um, pretty different senses of humor, so I just--don’t want to say, or, or do something, to make you. Like, uncomfortable, or anything.”

“Corpse, people say all kinds of weird things to me,” Sykkuno said. “I like you too; you’re my friend. I know you wouldn’t make me uncomfortable on purpose, so--just say whatever, okay? Even if I don’t understand, I won’t judge you, or anything.” 

Corpse made a little humming sound of acknowledgement. “What do you mean, people say weird things to you?” he asked, the frown audible in his voice.

Sykkuno blinked, eyebrow arching a bit dubiously. “Um, Corpse, it’s. It’s the internet,” he laughed a bit. “People say tons of stuff they’d never say to your face.”

“Yeah, but to you?” Corpse said, like he couldn’t process it.

“I, I mean, I’m the anime uwu boy, or whatever,” Sykkuno said. “So maybe especially to me?” 

Corpse made a noise that sounded a little disgruntled. “That’s shit. I mean, I get it, obviously--I’ve been getting a shitton of hate lately. On another note, you should send me a voice memo of you saying uwu so I can set it as my ringtone.”

Sykkuno laughed a bit, startled. “U-um, well then you should send _me_ a voice memo of you saying uwu so I can set it as my ringtone, because I think it sounds nice in your voice as well, Corpse! But then also you’ll have to walk me through how to do that, because I’m really not sure…”

Corpse giggled, and Sykkuno laughed with him. 

“Speaking of, um, your voice, Rae just let a deep dark secret of yours slip.”

“Oh?” Corpse asked, voice lilting up.

“Yep, yep,” Sykkuno smiled. “She told me everything. I know it all.”

Corpse chuckled. “Hmmmm. I don’t believe you again.” 

“Dang it,” Sykkuno laughed. “But she really did! I know,” he paused for dramatic effect, “that you have actually read stories to people before. And, like, recorded it. For YouTube.”

“Aaahh,” Corpse said. “I see, I see. I’ve been exposed.”

Sykkuno laughed a bit. “Look, I knew you’d played horror games and stuff before, okay? I just--I don’t, I don’t look other people up or anything when I meet them. Rae said it was weird for me not to know, though, so sorry if that’s the case.” 

“It’s not,” Corpse assured. “I was kinda thrown off that you didn’t know, but it’s--it’s kind of refreshing, I guess. People think that they know me without knowing shit, but you never--you never assume. You didn’t even assume my favorite color is black,” he laughed. “I appreciate that about you, Sy.”

Sykkuno smiled, small and soft. That was probably the most he had ever heard Corpse say at once. “I know that you’re a good guy and a good friend, Corpse,” he said. “And I look forward to learning more about you. Um, w-without Google.”

Corpse made another one of those soft sounds. “That’s--you’re so--you’re wrong, but I--I look forward to learning more about you too, Sykkuno.”

“Eh? What am I wrong about?”

The next few moments of silence seemed to stretch out and become infinite. “Me being a good guy,” Corpse finally said.

“I don’t know about that,” Sykkuno argued. “I think maybe you’re wrong, Corpse. You’re one of the sweetest guys I know.”

“S-sweetest?” Corpse sounded… Sykkuno didn’t know. Shocked? Pleased? Concerned?

“Unless that’s weird to say?” he backtracked. “Well, you know what, no. Even if it’s weird to say, I’m standing my ground. The absolute sweetest.” 

Corpse made a sound, kind of like he was dying. “How’s that?” he said, just as Sykkuno went to ask if he was alright. 

“Eh? Well, you laugh at my jokes, even when they’re really bad, and you always make me feel comfortable. Like when you invited me to a few rounds of Among Us in that charity stream and kept checking to make sure I was okay. Plus I think you're really thoughtful, and, you know, every time I see the colon-parenthesis smiling face I think of you. Cause you use those a lot, I mean.”

“With you I do,” Corpse said, voice gentle. “You make me smile a lot.”

“You make me smile too, Corpse,” Sykkuno said, covering his mouth to conceal his smile. "I'm really glad that we're friends."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was one of the few times I couldn't actually tell if Sykkuno knew or not. But I'm actually leaning towards he didn't... 😅😅😅
> 
> Not the best point to end, but as I said these are snippets/probably abandoned bits of things that I've decided to post instead of letting die a lonely death on my Google Drive - The Graveyard.


	5. Arbitrary Numbers (Ft. Statistics Major Sykkuno!)

“-- I’m  an arbitrary number,” Sykkuno heard Corpse’s voice drifting up from inside the airlock. He popped off medscan, going down to meet the man as the doors opened. He was alone, which meant he must have just been talking to his chat--or just finished killing someone.

Still, the math major in Sykkuno had perked up in interest at what he’d overheard. 

“Oh Corpse, you know about arbitrary numbers?” Sykkuno asked, wiggling his character suspiciously. “Do you like math?”

“I---uh…” Sykkuno cocked his head, confused by the hesitation. Had he misheard Corpse? Or was the other man just being shy again? Wait--was that a weird question? Maybe it was somehow intrusive?

“Oh, sorry, you don’t have to answer, I just, um.” 

“I do. I like parts of it,” Corpse blurted, “like, like arbitrary numbers.” 

Sykkuno relaxed, smiling a bit at the odd answer. “Oh yeah, arbitrary numbers are pretty cool. Choices without reason or a system… actually, it kinda suits you, Corpse!” 

“Oh,” Corpse said. He sounded a little breathless, for some reason, but also happy. “Thanks Sykkuno,” he continued, the smile evident in his voice. “That’s because I  _ am _ an arbitrary number.”

Sykkuno blinked at that, a bit thrown off. “O-oh? Well, um, arbitrary numbers are definitely the coolest math concept then.”

They split off and the round continued on. Sykkuno followed Tina around for a bit, threatening to kill her, before slipping off towards lights to fix them. Before he could unlock the door Ludwig’s body was reported by Rae.

“Ludwig was dead in decontam,” she said. Tina was also dead, leaving just Corpse, Rae, Peter and Sykkuno. 

“Oh! Hold on, I think I gotta line guys,” Sykkuno said to his chat, grabbing his phone off the desk and opening it to his dial screen. He waited a moment for Corpse to give his alibi, before saying, “Corpse, you’ve given too many clues! I’ve got a read on you! Your arbitrary number is 46767837.”

There was a pause. 

“Uhh-- _ what? _ ” Rae asked.

That was probably too elaborate, Sykkuno realized, covering his face and laughing in embarrassment. 

“Wait, did Sykkuno just leak Corpse’s actual phone number?” Peter laughed.

“What? No, no, that was too many numbers! It’s from earlier, a thing, it--Corpse is an arbitrary number, but he gave enough hints for me to deduce what the number was, cause, um, I was a math major, so I--I’m good at figuring out numbers sometimes. And if you look at your phone, and type out the number I said, you get…”

There was a pause. 

“Wait,  _ what _ number did you say?”

Corpse was giggling.

“Oh! Um, 46767837.” 

“Ten seconds! Sykkuno, just spit it out!” Rae shouted. “What does it spell?”

“‘Imposter,’ it spells ‘imposter,’ it was Corpse, oh Jesus guys three seconds--”

Two votes on Sykkuno, two votes on Corpse. Nobody was ejected.

“What? Oh Jesus!”

Corpse was laughing even harder, now. There was the sound of him banging on the table. 

“Uh--guys, guys, Tina and Toast cleared me, I medscanned!”

“Yeah, but you’re trying to get us to do math,” Peter said. “I had to vote you.” 

“Wait--but I voted Sykkuno,” Rae said. “Corpse, did you vote yourself?”

“ _ What? _ ” Sykkuno gasped. 

Corpse just kept laughing as the sabotage went off before the button’s cooldown ended. Sykkuno wiggled his character in place, torn. He should go fix lights, but he kinda wanted to stay--Corpse had a really cute laugh.

Rae ran off, yelling at him to press the button.

“Okay, Corpse, just you and me,” Sykkuno said, smiling at his friends slowly ebbing laughter. “You’re gonna have to kill me before I press the button, okay? I exposed you. They-they all know! Here, do you want to go down to decontam so it takes them longer to find my body?”

And Corpse was back to laughing again. 

“Corpse? You okay?”

“I, I’m not gonna kill you Sykkuno,” Corpse giggled. The lights came on as he rounded the corner and sliced off Peter’s head.

“Oh,” Sykkuno said, watching Peter’s body fall. “Um…” 

They stood there for a moment before Rae rounded the corner to the crime scene.

“What the heck?” 

She hit report.

There was silence for a long moment, until the countdown ended and voting began. Corpse and Sykkuno both insta-voted.

“Alright Rae, you know what to do, don’t you?” Sykkuno asked.

“Yeah Rae, you know,” Corpse agreed, voice wavering like he was holding back another stream of giggles.

“You gotta explain your math joke, Sykkuno.” Rae said. “This game depends on how bad it was.” 

“I--but-- _ what? _ ”

Rae snickered at his panic. 

“C-Corpse… Corpse, did you get it at least? Was it a good one?”

“I loved it, Sykkuno,” Corpse said genuinely. 

“Sykkuno, explain!” 

“Oh Jesus. Rae, do you know what an arbitrary number is?” Corpse was giggling again. Sykkuno could hardly think around it, it was so distracting. It made him laugh as well.

“No, what’s that?”

“Well usually you see it as a letter, that's a placeholder for an undetermined number, and since you don't know what the letter represents the number could literally be anything. It’s situational and can change depending on the question, so it can kinda camouflage and be everything and anything, like imposters can in this game. And since it’s a number I just thought--like texting, but with the numpad. So I pulled up my phone and found the letters for imposter, and said the numbers they correlated with, and so--yeah, okay, just vote me out.”

“Wait, why? I think I’m kinda getting it, keep going, keep going!”

“No, no, you don’t get it, it’s a bad joke, you shouldn’t have to explain jokes this much, just kill me I deserve it--”

“No, it was me,” Corpse interjected. “I killed Peter. Don’t you see the blood on my suit, Rae? It’s fresh.”

Rae burst out laughing. 

“It’s from trying to resuscitate him, Rae, Corpse is a great guy, he was just trying to help Peter after I sliced him in half. Actually, I didn’t even slice him! I just tried to explain my joke, and he took the knife and did it himself, it was terrible!”

“I’m so sorry,” Corpse laughed. “It sounds traumatizing.” 

“Uh huh,” Sykkuno giggled. “Rae, you gotta vote. Five seconds! Oh Jesus!”

Two votes Corpse, one vote Sykkuno.

“Wait--you didn’t vote yourself again, did you Corpse?”

“No, no, I voted for you that time,” Corpse assured him. 

“Yeah, Toast cleared you on medscan,” Rae said. “I voted Corpse. If you didn’t vote yourself last round you would’ve had it though, Corpse.” 

“Yeah, I--it was a good joke. It--it took me a minute, but it, it landed well.” 

“I’m glad you liked it, Corpse,” Sykkuno said, smiling. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look how supportive Sykkuno is! You can be an arbitrary number if you want to be, Corpse.


	6. RL Party AU!

The first thing Corpse hears when he walks into the house is Rae shouting, “Sykkuno,  _ don’t! _ ”

He starts, unprepared for the noise, and Jack nudges him with his elbow, waggling his finger with a sly little smile like, ‘Let’s figure out what’s going on here!’ 

They’re technically guests, but Toast had said the door was unlocked and invited them to just come in. Besides, Corpse  _ was _ curious. 

He follows Jack on light feet, peering around the entrance of the kitchen to see what’s going on. His eyes find Sykkuno immediately. He’s somehow taller than Corpse expected, held tilted almost curiously to the side at Rae as one hand rubs at the back of his neck. Corpse’s glance is drawn, briefly, to his bicep, the edge of a black tee-shirt tight over it. Apparently Sykkuno was low-key jacked. 

“Don’t what, Rae?” he asks innocently. “Well either way I can’t, because as you know girls aren’t into me.” 

“Sykkunooo,” Rae groans out, just like she does on stream. “I swear to God--!” she raises a fist threateningly, and Sykkuno starts to laugh before his hand can cover it, not intimidated in the least.

“W-what’s wrong?” he asks around giggles.

“Toast, you better protect your boy,” Rae huffs, lowering her hand and rolling her eyes. 

“Mmm, my boy’s fine,” Toast says, eyes focused on the phone in his hands. “Smash em, Sykkuno.” 

“ _ Huh? _ ” Sykkuno and Rae ask in time, while Ludwig loudly says, “Nooo,  _ I’m _ gonna smash Sykkuno!”

Sykkuno gives Ludwig an utterly baffled look, rocking back on his heels. His hands, Corpse notes, as Sykkuno goes to tuck them into his pants pockets, are bigger than he expects. He’s seen them on Sykkuno’s stream before, constantly tapping his chin, fixing his hair or adjusting his mic, but it’s different, seeing the whole picture. 

Still, everything else seems the same, personality wise at least. “What does  _ that _ mean?” he asks, body language gone awkward and shy.

“It means me and Corpse’ll have to protect you, Sykkunie!” Jack jumps in, unable to contain himself, and the four gathered jolt, all turning to look at them in surprise. Corpse, eyes still on Sykkuno, sees the moment he recognizes Jack.

“Oh Jesus! You scared me, Jack.”

Then their eyes meet, and Sykkuno smiles shyly at him. 

They’ve all seen his face at this point -- he FaceTimed each of them to feel more comfortable about meeting up in person -- and it’s the same smile Sykkuno had given him on that call, soft and sweet.

“Corpse, hi!” he exclaims, just like he does in lobbies, and Corpse is already smiling back. He’s not sure when he started. “And Jack!”

“Corpse!” Rae chirps, and Corpse’s eyes snap off of Sykkuno to find her approaching like a heat-seeking missile. “I’m so glad you’re here! Sykkuno’s trolling is at 100% today, you have to help contain him.” She gives him a friendly pat on the arm. “And Jack, welcome, I mean it’s not my house but  _ welcome! _ ”

“C-contain?” Corpse splutters. “Uh, um, I’m not sure a--a wild Sykkuno can be contained.”

“Ah, yeah, Sykkuno’s a rare pokemon, I doubt catching him will be easy,” Ludwig says fondly. “What’s up, boys?”

“I landed forty minutes ago,” Jack said, and visibly pouted. “I need  _ food _ .” 

Sykkuno giggled a bit at his whining, but Toast was already standing, opening a cabinet. 

“Alright, alright, we got some--what are these? Aah, NutriGrain bars here. Food won’t be delivered for another half hour, so eat one or two of these so you don’t die.”

“Sounds amazing,” Jack said jovially, rushing over to Toast’s side. “Apple cinnamon? Epic. Give me five--no, just kidding, two, two. That way I’ll only eat half the dinner table and leave some food for you all.”

“You want some water?” Sykkuno asked, already grabbing two cups from the cabinet. “Flying is really dehydrating, right?” 

“Yes please, Sykkunie!” Jack grinned. “Take care of me!”

“Uhh--uh-huh. Ice? It’s refrigerated, so it’s already cold.”

“Aah, no need, then.”

Sykkuno hummed in acknowledgement, pouring two cups of water from a pitcher in the fridge. He walked -- or kind of waddled, actually -- over and slid one to Jack, then smiled at Corpse and raised the other. “You don’t like ice, right Corpse?”

“Aahm, n-no,” Corpse agreed, surprised he had remembered. He’d mentioned that it hurt his throat once. “Thanks, Sy.” 

“Mhmm, no problem!” Sykkuno said, and the smile was even lovelier up close, until the hand not holding his water covered it. “I’m really happy you could make it!” Their fingers brushed as the glass traded hands, and Sykkuno’s eyes fell to the rings on Corpse’s fingers. 

Jack and Rae suddenly giggled a little, and Sykkuno jolted, turning to face them. “Um, I’m happy you made it too, Jack!” he said quickly.

“Aaah, but not happy Ludwig and I did,” Rae sighed. “Typical favorites, Sykkuno, this is  _ classic. _ ”

“No, no, Rae, don’t get it twisted, our sweet Sykkuno said he was happy to meet me in person. It is only you. I’m sure he and Toast were kissing under the mistletoe before we got here.”

“I-it’s not Christmas time?” Sykkuno said, shoulders tensing noticeable from Corpse’s position, voice cracking.

“Yeah, and we did a lot more than kissing,” Toast said. “Lud, come on, we aren’t thirteen.”

“T- _ Toast? _ ”

“Yeah Sykkuno? You don’t want me to get more graphic than that, right?” 

“Shut up!” Rae laughed. “I was here before Sykkuno, I would’ve seen the dirty deed. You guys are getting jbaited.” 

“What the heck?” Sykkuno muttered, shoulders relaxing slowly, head tilting down like he was looking at the floor. Corpse walked forward to bump their shoulders together gently, and Sykkuno looked over at him in surprise. Corpse smiled, trying to make it reassuring, and Sykkuno’s eyes softened as he smiled shyly back.

“These actually aren’t bad!” Jack exclaimed, which was enough for Corpse to realize they’d probably been staring at each other a beat too long. Sykkuno’s eyes darted around the room anxiously while Corpse met Toast’s gaze, hands beginning to shake just a bit at the intensity he found in the other man’s gaze.

“Corpse!” he said suddenly.

“Yeah?”

“I ordered what you messaged me, so no worries on eating anything that’ll upset your GERD. Pretty sure Rae brought some of that tea you were talking about the other day, too.”

“Oh, yeah, in case you want something other than water,” Rae agreed with a smile. “Uh, Sykkuno, why are you looking at Toast and I like that?”

By the time Corpse looked back over the only thing Sykkuno appeared to be was startled. “Uh, I’m not--I was just thinking about, uh, what good friends you guys were.”

Rae pulled a face at him, but Corpse caught her smile when Ludwig started to talk to Sykkuno again. Toast had rolled his eyes, but was smirking a bit, looking rather content. Jack was ripping into his second NutriGrain bar.

This… was all rather nice.

Corpse was glad he’d decided to come. 


	7. Call Me (an Insomniac)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: mentions of depression

Sykkuno woke to the sound of a discord call. He squinted at the screen, groaning a bit as he stretched out his sore back before hitting accept. “Hello?”

“Sykkuno, you know you’re amazing, right?” Corpse asked abruptly. Sykkuno paused in the middle of rubbing the sleep from his eye.

“E-eh?”

“You’re incredible,” Corpse restated. “Easily one of the best people I know.” 

“Corpse?” he said roughly, glancing at the time as Corpse made an odd noise. 11:22 a.m. His lobby wasn’t starting for another four hours. “You ‘kay? If ya can’t make the lobby tonight, tha’s fine.” 

“Sy, you sound—shit, did I wake you up?”

Sykkuno laughed tiredly, rolling over onto his back with a sigh. “Yeah, but I need to get up anyway.” he cleared his throat, trying to get rid of the hoarseness. He really needed some water. “Don’t worry about it, Corpse, I just stayed up a little too late. What’s up?” 

“Nothing, I just—” there was the sound of shuffling, and Sykkuno’s eyes fell half-lidded. Corpse’s voice was so low; kind of calming, really. Sykkuno could probably just drift back to sleep for a couple more hours, before his alarm went off… “Uhh, I was talking to Peter and he mentioned something about you being pretty down on yourself when you guys were playing Rust last night?”

“Mm, more like this morning,” Sykkuno muttered. He’d only gotten maybe an hour and a half of sleep after they stopped playing at seven. “What’s—oh. You were worried?”

Corpse laughed incredulously, the sound shooting a tingle down Sykkuno’s spine. He made a little sound in the back of his throat, not sure if it was a protest or not, and Corpse quieted. “I-I was, yeah. I know you can be pretty self-deprecating, but the way he mentioned it, it sounded pretty bad, so—I just wanted to, to um. Let you know that. That you’re great, and I appreciate you, and—and I hope your day gets better, Sykkuno.”

“You’re gonna be there,” Sykkuno said quietly.

“Uh-huh?” A reassurance and question in one. 

“So it’s gonna be.”

“Oh.” Corpse sounded weird, but happy. Sykkuno yawned audibly, before stretching with a little groan. 

“Corpse?”

“Y-yeah?”

“Can you convince me to get up? I don’t wanna move.”

Corpse chuckled a bit. “Mmm, relatable.” 

Sykkuno snuggled into his pillow to block out the light filtering in from outside. His muttered, “Bad try,” was so muffled by it, he was surprised when Corpse seemed to hear it and started giggling. 

“You’re spicy when you wake up, aren’t you?” he asked rhetorically. “Fine, fine, I’ll help you. Ready?”

“Not really,” Sykkuno sighed.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh,” Corpse held a low, continuous note. With earbuds it would’ve been a lot louder, but as it was it just reminded Sykkuno of being at the ocean. He let out a little ‘heh’.

“Y’know I’ve fallen asleep to Agoraphobic b’fore, Corpse. Tha’s not helping.”

Corpse made a noise. Sykkuno was too tired to try and decipher it. “You like that one, huh?”

“Mmm, I like other ones too,” he grumbled. “They’re a bit too intense to sleep to, though.”

“Oh yeah? Which ones?”

“All of ‘em.”

Corpse made a sound of amusement. “Cop out.” 

“Nuh-uh, I even know the words to most,” Sykkuno argued. Even half asleep he could recite at least one of them. “I'm still on the run, 0ppositions tryna get me, I'm still swervin' 'til I'm done, won't off the gas until it's empty.”

“Yeah?” Corpse sounded winded, for some reason. “What comes next?”

Sykkuno let out a small laugh. “Not gonna fall for it, Corpse.”

“So you don’t know?” the younger man teased him.

“All these bleeps tryna front, all my exes can’t forget me,” Sykkuno yawned. “I still hate myself, I still can’t accept me.” 

The last part sounded too quiet, too honest even to his own ears. He huffed out a sigh at himself, annoyed by the black hole his mind seemed to have been circling for days. He’s been depressed before. He didn’t want to fall back into that, but lately it felt like everything was just…

“Sy?” 

“Hm?”

“I adore you.”

Sykkuno could feel himself flushing. He turned back into the pillow, not sure when he’d moved in the first place, and buried his face. There was a long beat of silence, before Sykkuno realized he should probably respond.

“Um. I—really like you too, Corpse.”

“You’re a fan,” Corpse teased softly, and Sykkuno laughed again. Short and contained, nothing like his normal giggles when he was playing with friends.

“Of course I am, it’s you.”

“Stooop,” Corpse groaned out. “You’re embarrassing me.”

“Good,” Sykkuno huffed back. “You should be, you’re bad at this. I’m still unmotivated.”

Corpse giggled a little. “Sy!”

“Wha?”

“I’m honestly kinda loving this side of you.” 

Sykkuno rubbed at his eyes again, confused. “You like it when I whine at you? Pretty sure it’s annoying.”

“Not from you,” Corpse disagreed. “I like it when you don’t hold back your clever mouth.” 

“Clever mouth,” Sykkuno repeated dryly.

“ _ Not like— _ ” Corpse made a noise of embarrassment, and it took a moment for Sykkuno’s brain to connect. He really laughed, this time. 

“I didn’t—I was just repeating—” he started giggling whole-heartedly at the noise Corpse made again. “Oh Jesus, Corpse, you sound so—”

“So?” Corpse grumbled.

“Cute,” Sykkuno said, and Corpse made yet another sound of embarrassment. 

“No you,” he said, and it sounded so much like ‘shut up’ that Sykkuno laughed again.

“Okay, okay, I’m—I’m awake now,” he said, rubbing at the tears swelling in one of his eyes. “You did well, Corpse, thanks.”

“Stop it, Sy,” Corpse grumbled. “I’m praising you here, not the other way around.”

Sykkuno slowly pushed himself upright, sighing softly. “I never agreed to that,” he said. 

“Hmmm. How much sleep did you get?”

“Uhh—hour and a half, maybe two if I’m being generous. I had an alarm set for two thirty.”

“ _ Fuck _ ,” Corpse said with feeling. “Sorry, I shouldn't have called, I—”

“Didn’t know,” Sykkuno interrupted. “It’s not a big deal, Corpse, I’ve gone with less before streaming. Besides, I would’ve been in a pretty bad mood still even if I woke up at two-thirty, but you called and made me laugh so I’m better off.”

“I—are you  _ sure,  _ I—”

“Corpse, when was the last time you slept? And for how long?”

“Uhh… I slept for a while at, like, three pm yesterday. Three hours, I think.”

“See? We can both be sleep deprived together, okay?” 

“I—” the breath Corpse let out sounded like the release of a thousand pounds of stress. “Yeah, okay Sy.” 

“Good,” Sykkuno smiled at his phone absently. “Okay. Um, I should—get some water and stuff.”

“Yeah,” Corpse laughed briefly, “you definitely sound, uh. Different.”

“I do? Oh, I always use my mic, so that’s probably why.”

“Maybe,” Corpse agreed, sounding a bit dubious. “Um, anyway, I’ll let you get to it. I’ll talk to you soon, Sy?”

“Yeah, Corpse, we’ll talk in a bit. I’m glad you can make the lobby,” he added, remembering what he initially assumed the call was about.

“Mm, for you it’s always.”

“For me it should be an ‘as much as my body allows,’” Sykkuno rebutted. Corpse laughed, a quick, surprised sound.

“Uh, yeah, that too.”

“Good,” Sykkuno smiled. “Bye, Corpse.”

“Bye Sykkuno.”

They hung up. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure what this is, but it had some major fucking flow. Perhaps due to my own projected depression. As always, I appreciate comments. They definitely motivate me. **Please do not request more.**


	8. Roast Me

“I blew you up with grenades at Oil Rig and you didn’t even make fun of me,” Corpse said suddenly. “You’ve been teasing Ash for days.” 

“W-what?” Sykkuno choked out. “Um, I’m not sure what you mean--”

“You keep suggesting people give Ash grenades or make them for her yourself,” Corpse continued, and he sounded really intense, now, like he had a point to make and wouldn’t stop trying for anything. “But when I blew you up you just said it was okay, because it was me.”

“I mean--but it was?” Sykkuno laughed awkwardly. “Wait, are you saying--Corpse, did you blow me up  _ on purpose? _ ”

There was a beat of damning silence. Then Corpse said, flatly, “Yes.”

Sykkuno blinked at his screen for a minute, and then burst out laughing. “W-wait, really?” he asked between giggles, unaware of the way that Corpse was freezing up, dumbfounded by the reaction. “Y-you, you--Oh Jesus, Corpse!” 

And Sykkuno just _kept laughing,_ like getting mad at him wasn’t even a thought. A part of Corpse thought it might feel genuinely terrible to make Sykkuno mad at him, but the remainder _needed to_ _know_ how it felt. 

Slowly, Sykkuno’s laughter ebbed. “Do you want me to tease you too, Corpse?” Sykkuno asked lightly, voice smooth and utterly charming. It was enticing-- _ God,  _ was it--but not what Corpse was looking for, still. 

“What would it take, Sykkuno?” he asked suddenly. “What would it take to get you to just roast me?”

“ _ Corpse _ ?” Sykkuno asked, voice cracking. “I--n-no. I’m not going to.”

“Okay,” Corpse agreed quickly, “but why not?”

“Because,” Sykkuno fiddled with his hair anxiously. “Because I feel like you’re the kind of person who would believe that what I’m saying is true, even though it wouldn’t be. And I don’t want to risk saying anything to you that hurts your feelings, even as a joke.”

“Sykkuno…” Corpse said softly, after a long moment. “How…” 

Sykkuno heard Corpse swallow. He didn’t need him to finish the question.

“Because I think we’re pretty similar in some ways, Corpse,” he replied softly. “And I’ve--let’s just say I’ve got some experience where this road could lead, and I would never take it. Especially not with you.”

Corpse hesitated, but the question still slipped out. “Did someone…”

“Not some _ one _ ,” Sykkuno muttered. “Anyway, I--we should, um, should we talk about something else?”

“Okay,” he relented quickly, “like what?” 

Sykkuno hummed thoughtfully. “How about what you’re gonna do to make up for the scrap I spent for the mini-heli to fly back to Oil Rig?”

Corpse swallowed. Wait a minute… that tone…

“I mean, it was only 750, so if you  _ have _ scrap you can just pay me back and we’ll be all good.” Sykkuno continued lightly.

If Corpse’s giggles came out a bit manic, he could hardly help that. At least Sykkuno was finally willing to tease him--but he was  _ broke. _ He’d lost everything to another 3. 

“S-Sy, I thought you, um, you weren’t mad about that?” Corpse let his own voice shift, lilt slightly, in a way that always seemed to soften people towards him. 

It apparently didn’t affect Sykkuno, because he continued on, ruthless, “Huh? What’s the problem, Corpse? No way you’ve gambled away everything that we stole from Leslie, right?” 

“I--yeah, no way, I, I couldn’t have, right?”

“Of course not, you’re a pro gambler,” Sykkuno agreed, the grin audible in his voice. “I mean, I wouldn’t even ask for the scrap back, but you  _ did _ just say you killed me on purpose, and I did abandon the mini-copter to save you when you were downed… and it  _ did _ get exploded by the heavy’s heli…”

Corpse swallowed. The fact that Sykkuno could give such a convincing guilt trip should be a warning sign, not attractive. (Then again, Corpse had found warning signs attractive in the past.)

“I mean, I-I could definitely give you the scrap,” Corpse said, “but hypothetically, uh, what kind of favor would you want?”

Sykkuno made a soft, humming noise. He was starting to sound a little evil. Corpse wished he didn’t like it so much, but he was enjoying this entire experience. He was pretty sure Sykkuno could tell.

“Hypothetically, how much would you do?” Sykkuno asked. “Because  _ anything _ would give me a lot of power…” 

Copse swallowed. “Well now I kind of want to say ‘anything,’” Corpse said lowly, “just to see what you’d do with it.”

“You mean what I’d make  _ you _ do with it?”

Corpse swallowed.

Okay. Alright. Okay.

That was a little. Too close to some of his kinks for comfort. His heartbeat was growing alarmingly erratic.

“U-uhhh…”

“Corpse?” Immediately, Sykkuno sounded concerned, clearly sensing his discomfort--though Corpse knew he would never actually guess the reason for it. Not so long as he kept the ridiculous notion that he wasn’t attractive to people alive in his mind.

“Nothing, I’m,” he laughed shakily, trying to get himself back under control. “I’m good.” 

Maybe he could turn this around, somehow. He knew the effect he had on people, the effect his voice could have. Not that he thought it actually worked on Sykkuno, but it was worth a shot. Besides, flirty was his default. He let his voice go a little throatier. Said, “So, uh, what are you going to  _ make me _ do, Sy?”

Sykkuno’s gasp was a soft thing, perhaps a third as audible and dramatic as it normally was.  _ More genuine, or stifled? _ Corpse’s eye flicked to his discord icon, and widened a bit in surprise. Sykkuno was muted.

Had Corpse actually managed to fluster him in turn?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started writing this before Sykkuno started teasing Corpse so often, with just the line 'what would it take to get you to just roast me?!' :)


	9. Eyeliner (Among Us Lobby)

Sykkuno was killed by Toast, and gasped in betrayal. “T-Toast?”

“Okay,” he addressed his chat, “that was a good move on his part, since I was pretty sure it was him. I thought I was suss enough to keep alive for a while, but he probably has some big brained idea…” 

“How do you feel about eyeliner, Sykkuno?” Brooke asked randomly, floating over to join him. Corpse followed behind her, mumbling “oh no,” when he saw Sykkuno’s ghost. 

“Oh, hey Brooke! Um, eyeliner is cool, I guess. I’ve been out of my eyebrow filler powder stuff before, so I used some of Lily’s—or maybe Yvonne’s?— eyeliner, and nobody said anything so it must not have looked too bad!”

“Wait, Sykkuno you use eyebrow filler?” Brooke asked. “Have you tried any other makeup?”

“Oh, well, not really,” Sykkuno shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “Well, I mean I guess my lips were really chapped once when me and Lily were out and she let me use her colored lip gloss stuff. Corpse wears eyeliner though, right? Maybe you should ask him if you’re looking for a, um, like a brand or something?”

“Oh no, that’s why I was asking,” Brooke said. “I was talking about how it wasn’t fair that all guys look 20% hotter when they’re wearing eyeliner, and he was trying to fight me on it, so I figured he couldn’t if you’ve worn it before and have, like, pictures or something.”

“Oh, um, but how would that help? I’m sure if the person looks nice before they’d look nice after, right? It’s just, uhh, enhancing what’s already there… right?” 

“So either way I’m fucked,” Corpse deadpanned.

“Wha—Corpse, that’s what I was gonna say!” Sykkuno processed the other way that could be taken as Brooke burst out laughing, and said, “Wait, no! No, no, about me, a-about me, not you! You’re—I mean, you sound—you have, um, a—a cute laugh, so I’m sure your smile is—”

His dead body was found. Sykkuno exhaled in relief, slowly lowering his hand from his face and deliberately not looking towards chat.

This was going on one of those YouTube clip channels for sure. His face felt hot, but he knew from experience that his webcam wasn’t high enough quality to pick up when he was blushing. 

“Let’s, uh, see what they found out,” he struggled to say, voice a bit too high. Sykkuno fidgeted with his hair as Rae led the meeting with his body’s location, hoping Corpse hadn’t taken his comment the wrong way. He glanced at the time, then at chat, which was freaking out.

“I kinda have to go to the bathroom, guys, and since I’m dead—be right back!’

He grabbed his phone once he was out of frame, clicking into his contacts to find Corpse’s name. He bit his lip — the other man was streaming, he probably wasn’t going to be checking his phone. Still... 

_ YUO KNO I WAS TALKING ABOUT ME RIGHT _ he typed out, hands trembling a bit. It was bad enough that he had said that at all, but 32,000 people had just witnessed it. Still, they weren’t as important as making sure he hadn’t just accidentally hurt his friends feelings. 

Corpse texted back while he waited the appropriate amount of time to return to his chair.

i know sykkuno   
your laugh and smile are cute as well

Sykkuno blinked. 

~~_UM THANK YOU_~~ He stared at the uppercase message, erased it, and replied with a simple, _:)_

He exhaled in relief. Of course Corpse had realized what he meant. He put a hand on his chest, taking a deep breath to steady himself, and went to sit back down as his phone vibrated again.

“Hm?” 

<3

He smiled, a bit, even as his face grew a little hotter. He wasn’t sure how to respond. He could just ignore it. Or.

_ <3 _

Three hundred and forty miles away, Corpse squinted at the response.

Smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might be dropping more real short things that'll never be continued sometime soon. My WIP google doc for these two is at over 200 pages and I want to clean it up.


	10. Just Chattin' (FT Call)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Context: Sykkuno is playing a solo ranked Valo game with Iron players while talking to Corpse via facetime. The phone is leaned against his monitors base.

“I thought it was pretty funny," Sykkuno admitted. "Especially when Toast joined." 

"I could tell," Corpse said, amused. "You were making them all suffer." 

"Wha? Well, maybe a little," Sykkuno admitted. "You like chaos too, though, right Corpse?"

He smiled absently as Corpse hummed in assent, and Corpse stared at the uncovered expression as it warped into surprise. Sykkuno's eyes darted around his screen and he gasped softly, before swerving his head a bit and making a little 'eh' sound. Then he burst out laughing, cheeks flushing with mirth. He didn't bother hiding it, which made Corpse fairly certain he’d been forgotten, until dark eyes darted down to meet his and that hand moved up, covering the beaming expression. 

“Knife! I got a knife, Corpse!” he exclaimed, excitement obvious. 

Corpse giggled at his enthusiasm, nodding a bit. “N-nice. You got a lot of those today, right? I’ve been seeing some clips on the bird app.” 

“Mm, yeah,” Sykkuno agreed happily. “It’s been a good day for knives. I’m really glad we were placed against John’s team and got to mess around in the tournament the whole time. They were basically knife-maining,” Sykkuno explained. “It was awesome. I got to do what I wanted, which was knife Peter.” Dark eyes gleamed mischievously. “He should’ve known not to tempt me with his stream title.”

“Wait, what—what was his stream name?” What put such a devious look on Sykkuno’s face? 

“It was something like, ‘please don’t knife me, Sykkuno,’” the man’s smirk morphed into a grin. He didn’t seem to notice, and it was nice, watching him when he wasn’t so concerned with hiding, eyes focused on the game again.

“Mm, he was asking for it, then,” Corpse grinned through the words. Sykkuno huffed a laugh, leaning back a bit and meeting Corpse’s gaze again.

“How was your Among Us lobby? I watched for a bit.”

“You did?” Corpse asked, voice going a bit higher. “Me, or?”

“Hmm? No, I raided Bretman and stuck around his stream for a couple of games. You don’t like it when I watch you, right? You mentioned it after we finished playing Pummel Party, so I don’t really want to if you mind.” 

“I don’t  _ mind _ necessarily,” Corpse said slowly.

“Really?” Sykkuno asked softly. “Because you just cringed a little.” 

Corpse huffed a laugh. “Not you calling me out.”

Sykkuno’s eyes were focused on his monitor again. “I like watching my friends streams,” he said. “I usually don’t watch for too long, just while I’m doing other stuff or chillin’. But we’re normally live at the same time, so I don’t get the chance.” 

“As we should be,” Corpse said. “I like when we play together.”

Sykkuno’s lips tilted into another smile, eyes staying on his screen. The expression was soft and warm, affection naked across his face. “I like playing with you too, Corpse.”

Corpse made a little humming sound, deep in his chest. There was a moment of silence, where Corpse absently stared as Sykkuno played the round, fiddling with his rings. The man began to talk after a moment, words falling almost absently from his lips as he focused on the game. 

“You always make really cool lobbies. I’m kinda glad that I wasn’t taking up space—not that I don’t want to always play with you! But you brought together a ton of people that don’t usually play, or play together. Even Lily agreed,” Sykkuno’s voice got a little soft, at that.

“I’m sure she’d play if you asked, too,” Corpse said. Sykkuno looked a bit startled, but didn’t take his eyes off the game, though one hand rose to ruffle his hair. He made a noncommittal noise. 

“Umm, maybe. She never really seems to enjoy when we play Among Us together. I think my play style may annoy her,” he forced a laugh. “She was having fun today, though! She was even singing your music,” Sykkuno's smile turned genuine as he met Corpse’s glance.

Corpse nibble at his lip beneath his mask, trying to pinpoint what Sykkuno was feeling. There was something sad, there, but he was clearly glad for Lily and Corpse's friendship. Was it jealousy, then? A fear of drifting away from his friend—his  _ first friend _ , as he called Lily?

“It probably just depends on her mood, right? She mentioned today it was a lot more fun without streaming the game for her.”

“Yeah,” Sykkuno said, “I try not to bother her when we’re live anyway. People get so weird about us interacting.”

“Yeah?”

Sykkuno hummed. “There was a while when she didn’t talk to me publicly, because people were being—” he trailed off, expression going intent and focused for a moment, before his shoulders relaxed and he eased back a bit in his chair. “Well, anyway. She says she doesn’t mind anymore, but people can be mean, and I know it takes a pretty big toll on her, so I figure it’s better if we aren’t in too many lobbies together.”

His smile was gone, something distant and contemplative in its place. “Michael talked to me about it once. It was… yeah. It sucks that random people can get a say in how we interact, but if it makes it easier on Lily,” he shrugged. “It’s one of the downsides of streaming, I guess. I just hate when people are mean to my friends, especially if it’s because of how we’ve interacted.” 

Sykkuno rolled his lips together, tongue darting out to wet them as he focused on something. A moment later he was looking back to Corpse. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to vent.” He laughed lightly, sounding embarrassed. “You’re really easy to talk to, Corpse.”

“Really?” Corpse breathed out, the surprise and pleasure clear in his voice. He quickly cleared his throat and continued. “I’m, um, I’m glad y-you think so.”

Sykkuno made a soft sound of surprise, and Corpse’s gaze shot back to the camera, wondering what was wrong. Sykkuno just smiled, though, and shook his head. “Sorry, I just—you do that too. Touch the back of your neck when you feel, um, a-awkward, I guess. It’s—I didn’t know that.” 

He looked so pleased to know it now, like this was an important bit of information rather than a normal habit. It strikes Corpse as funny, somehow, and he giggles. 

“W-what?”

“Nothing,” he laughs, because it’s really not that amusing. “Just—that’s one of the first things I noticed when I watched you stream. That we have that in common.” 

“Oh,” Sykkuno said. He smiled, again, small and a little shy. “Um, I think that’s—pretty cool, I guess. Right? I mean, you’re cool, Corpse, so—I like having things in common with you.” `

Holy shit, that was cute. Corpse let out another little giggle, fingering the top edge of his mask to make sure it was still in place. His face felt hot, but Sykkuno was definitely too distracted by the game to notice if his ears were red. His room was probably dim enough that it was difficult to distinguish either way. “You’re pretty cool yourself, Sy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've literally just been writing rl based situations out into snippets. Sykkuno was wreaking havoc on Yvonne's stream earlier, with the 'who will be in this game?' dance off. He was gaining energy from the chaos, while everyone else was exuding stress and misery. Love that for him. 
> 
> Would you guys like to see more of this type of thing, or stories with more coherence? (I'm not saying either will happen, though.)


	11. Tina to the Moon!

“Sykkuno what is happening? Why did you join as I was ending?”

“Huh? Oh, I mean if you want me to go—sorry, I know I’m not a part of the salad gang, I just thought I would be a guest on the show—”

“No, no, you have the sprout,” Corpse said. 

“Yeah, yeah, the bean sprout! You’re salad gang, Sykkuno,” Brooke reassured. 

“I just—I don’t—what just happened?”

“You okay, Tina?” Sykkuno asked, voice softening considerably. 

“I don’t—I am, I just—I feel so weird! That was—that was bad, right?”

“What do you mean?” Brooke said. “You earned it!”

“You did,” Corpse agreed vehemently. 

“What are you guys—I don’t earn anything, though!” Tina insisted, voice still quivering a bit. 

“Earned is pushing it,” Sykkuno agreed. 

Brooke gasped out, “Sykkuno?!” as Corpse blinked, taken aback.  _ What? _

“But you did deserve it, Tina,” Sykkuno continued, tone unusually serious, and  _ oh.  _ That—made a lot more sense. “You’re an amazing person, and watching you makes others happy. Tina makes you happy, right Corpse? Brooke?”

Corpse jolted at the sudden call out, but was already nodding as he answered. “A hundred percent,” he said, a bit dazed. 

“Of course she does,” Brooke agreed. 

“I’m sure Karl feels the same, too. You have your own community that loves you, and they love you, so their communities do, too. Nobody was forced to sub, Tina, they did it because they wanted to support you—or the people supporting you—and you don’t have to do anything special or fancy to earn that. I mean, you don’t earn affection or friendship, right? It’s given freely.”

Corpse swallowed around the tightening in his throat. He’d never heard Sykkuno sound like this before. Comforting, reassuring, but firm, like he was daring Tina to contradict him. 

“Sykkuno, you’re—you’re actually making me cry right now,” Tina sniffled, the sound muffled, like she was hiding behind her sleeves again. 

“I— _ what?  _ Oh Jesus,” Corpse let out a startled laugh, “I’m sorry! I just—I could tell that you were feeling bad, and I wanted to make sure you knew you weren’t doing anything wrong, I didn’t mean to make it worse, do you want me to—I can go!!”

Gods, but Sykkuno could talk fast when he wanted to. He sounded genuinely embarrassed and apologetic, too, if somewhat dramatic. 

“I—” Tina laughed, “N-no. That was just so sweet, and you guys are all so nice, I can’t—”

Sykkuno let out a relieved breath. “I think—crying can help when you’re overwhelmed, sometimes. But maybe drink some more water, if you feel up to it? So you don’t get dehydrated.”

Gods, how was this man real? 

“Sykkuno’s a mother hen confirmed?” Brooke said. “But I agree, a good cry should make you feel better Tina. I’m sorry you got overwhelmed, though.”

Corpse hummed in agreement. “Yeah, that wasn’t really our intention. My bad.”

“Don’t think I forgot that you wanted to leave the podcast as soon as Karl was gone,” Tina said wetly. “And also, you can’t say things like—you w-want my voice to narrate your thoughts. It’s too embarrassing!”

Corpse was about to reply, but then Sykkuno’s chuckle filtered through. “Not gonna lie, that’s a pretty cool thought.”

“Right?” Corpse smiled. 

“Okay Sykkuno,” Tina said, exasperation evident. “You said I remind you of your sister, though, so don’t you think that would be a little weird?! Your sisters voice in your head all the time?”

Like his sister? Corpse found himself smiling a bit. That was cute. A small part of him had almost thought—

“You’re like his  _ sister? _ ” Brooke said. “That’s so cute! Big brother Sykkuno!”

“Exposed,” Sykkuno muttered. “I told you that in confidence, Tina.”

Tina sniffles again loudly. 

“Oh, don’t be sad about it! I’m not really mad, no need to cry,” he teased, a bit meanly. Corpse found himself giggling, again, as Tina made a noise of outrage. 

“Don’t bully your sister, Sy. We’ll have to kick you out the gang.”

Tina gasped. “Corpse would kick Sykkuno out the gang for  _ me? _ ” She whispered. 

“Who wouldn’t?” Sykkuno said lightly. Maybe a little  _ too  _ lightly. 

“I might  _ joke _ about it,” Corpse clarified. 

“That’s fair,” Tina said. 

“No follow through?” Sykkuno asked. “But—that’s illegal!”

“I never took you as one for empty threats, Corpse,” Brooke agreed. 

“No, no,” Tina giggled wetly, “everyone stays in the gang. Except for maybe Karl, he left us.”

“And for what?” Sykkuno asked. “To sing karaoke and bring a hundred thousand smiles to the world? How dare.”

“Wha—” Brooke laughed. 

Corpse was giggling again. “Yeah, how could that beautiful man do such a thing?”

“How  _ could _ that beautiful man do such a thing?” Sykkuno repeated. Corpse blinked. 

Had he actually just called Karl beautiful? Karl was going to be  _ thrilled _ when he told him. 

“What are you—who are you, Sykkuno?” Brooke laughed. “You’re talking like one of us.”

“Huh? That’s ‘cus I’m repping salad gang. Gotta be hip and chill, y’know?”

Corpse snorted. Tina and Brooke both burst into laughter. 

“No,” Tina gasped, “y-you can’t say things like that, oh my god, it sounds so  _ weird _ !”

There was a moment of silence from Sykkuno. Then he said, with Karl’s typical cadence, “oh?”

Corpse wheezed, curling into himself at the force of his mirth. Brooke and Tina were both giggling, as well. 

If Sykkuno was trying to make Tina feel better—and there was little doubt that he was—Corpse thought he had passed with flying colors. Reassurance, humor and distraction. It was effective. 

“Oh!” Tina said. “Syd’s done with her game!”

“Yeah, looks like her groups disbanding,” Sykkuno agreed. 

Tina left the call. Corpse glanced through the channels to find her with Sydney. He’d already closed her stream after Tina’s raid, uninterested in watching more Valorant gameplay. 

“She just left! She didn’t even say bye!” Brooke exclaimed. 

Sykkuno gasped. “Wait, people can just leave calls whenever they want? That’s… that’s illegal!”

Corpse laughed again. “Must be, must be,” he agreed. 

“Illegallll!” Brooke cheered. “Alright, let’s follow her.”

They clicked into Sydney’s discord channel as one. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm.


	13. Workin' It

“Ack!”

“S-Sy?”

“Sykkuno?”

“Mmm?”

“Uhh,” Karl laughed, “what was that sound, my man?” 

“Wait, I wasn’t muted?” 

Corpse giggled. “Nope,” Karl popped the ‘p’. 

“Aaaah. Yeah, it was nothing, I just dropped a weight on— _anyway_ , um, what—what skills are you guys working on?”

“Oh? Pausechamp? Sykkuno, were you—working out?”

“Huh?”

“You said you dropped a _weight?_ ” 

“Uh huh, I did say that.”

Corpse made a sound of amusement. “You’re alright, though, Sy?”

“Yeah, no, I’m fine! I basically just stubbed my toe, it’ll feel better soon.”

“How heavy was the thing you stubbed your toe on?” Karl asked eagerly. 

“Um, t-twenty?”

“Twenty pounds?!” 

“Wait, why do you sound so—um, ounces! Obviously I meant ounces!” 

“Sykkuno, are you lowkey _jacked_?” Karl enthused. “If we ever hugged, could you lift me up and spin me around?”

“S-spin? Why would I—?”

Corpse made a humming noise. “What do you mean? Why _wouldn’t_ you spin Karl in your arms?” 

“O-oh, um. I-I mean, I guess it depends on-on how much you weigh, Karl, but that’s a rude question, and also I’m old and weak and feeble, so probably not.” 

“Old and weak and—” Corpse choked out, before bursting into giggles.

“What?” Sykkuno asked innocently. “I’m—I’m, like, five or six years older than you guys. And _feeble._ Feeble, I tell you!” 

“Listen to this guy, Corpse,” Karl said. “Toning his arms with 20 pound weights because he’s _feeble._ Sykkuno, could you pick up something that weighed a buck fifty?”

“Eh?” Corpse could practically picture Sykkuno’s head tilt of confusion. “Of course, Karl! I believe a dollar bill and fifty cents is less than twenty ounces, so I could almost definitely do that.”

Corpse laughed, but only for a moment. “Sykkuno, this-this is serious business. Karl needs to know if you can spin him.”

“Yeah, and what about a piggy back ride, Sykkuno? What if I need a piggy back ride?”

“Okay, well I can actually answer that one,” Sykkuno laughed a little. “I can definitely give you a piggy back ride, Karl.”

“Definitely?” Corpse sounded intrigued. “Not ‘definitely, probably,’ o-or ‘definitely, don’t quote me on that’?” 

“Oh, well I know I’m able to hold someone up for a pretty long time, and if his legs are wrapped around me and his arms are around my neck, that just makes it easier, right?”

There was a moment of silence. Then Karl burst out laughing, and there was a crashing noise. Karl’s laughter sounded like it was coming from a distance, now, so it was likely he had fallen out of his chair again. 

“Karl? Y-you okay?”

“Sy?” Corpse said weakly. “You—uh. I—you—then…” 

“Corpse?” Sykkuno asked, tone concerned, though if Corpse wasn’t mistaken there was an edge to it. A little hint of amusement, perhaps even teasing. 

“You, uh, you seem—seem p-pretty sure that you can hold Karl up.”

“Hm? Oh, well you too, probably. If you ever, y’know. Wanted me to.”

Corpse made a little choking sound, like he was dying, and Karl’s laughter redoubled, interspersed with “oh my God”’s. 

“Guys, are you—what’s wrong?” Sykkuno asked. He laughed a bit, himself. “I’m—you’re starting to worry me. Did I say something weird?”

“No, no,” Karl said, once it became clear Corpse was still nonverbal. “But, um, I’m curious. If being held was something Corpse is into, how would you do it?”

“I— _huh?_ ” Sykkuno’s voice went from innocent to deadpan in a blink. “I don’t know, Karl, how do you normally hold someone for a piggy back ride?”

“ _Oh_? We were still talking about a piggy back ride? I thought this was some against the wall stuff. Walls can help support weight, right, and since you’re so _feeble—_ ”

“Ohhh,” Sykkuno said. “I get it, Karl, you don’t think I could lift Corpse without a wall. You think I would lie to you like that. I mean, I guess we can’t test it—there’s COVID, after all.”

“Oh yeeeeah, COVID,” Karl said, like it was a revelation. “Corpse, you definitely wouldn’t get tested to deliver Sykkuno a hoodie and be held without a wall by him, right?”

“Wha—” It was Sykkuno’s turn to splutter. “Karl, you can’t just—Corpse doesn’t have to deliver—I live, like, five hours away now!” 

Corpse cleared his throat. “I mean, before the incentive was seeing you in my amazing merch,” Corpse said, “but now there’s the potential of being held. Hmmmm.”

“Hmmmmm,” Karl chimed in.

Instead of spluttering again, as Corpse half expected, Sykkuno joined in. “Hmmmmm.” 

He laughed, after a moment, and said, “Actually, though, five hours is a really long drive. Plus, it’s ten hours roundtrip, plus the time it would take to stop for gas and food… I mean, I’d obviously let you stay over, Corpse, but you’re a super busy guy!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Corpse said, “So busy I’ve spent the last three nights playing Valheim with you guys. I definitely couldn’t get in my car at 2am and drive to see you instead.”

“Wha—Corpse, you want me to hold you up that badly?” Sykkuno teased.

Corpse choked on his laughter again.

Holy fuck, but this man was _relentless._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written before Sykkuno exposed himself as a man who does pushups and pull ups instead. 
> 
> I'm thinking. Respectfully.


	14. Earrings (ft. Bretman)

“Ouch,” Corpse grumbled plaintively. 

“Hmm? You okay, Corpse?”

Ah. This is why he normally kept push to talk on. It was just too much bother at three am, especially since he wasn’t streaming. 

“I’m fine, Sy. Just—a piece of hair got caught in one of my earrings. It’s getting too long.”

Sykkuno hummed consideringly. “Sounds kinda annoying,” he said. “What kind of earrings do you wear, Corpse?”

Huh. That was kind of surprising for Sykkuno to ask, considering he ‘didn’t know anything about style’. It was also the first time he’d asked for any physical descriptor of Corpse, but then it was something materialistic and not, like, his eye color. 

“I’m wearing hoops right now,” he said. “It’s why it’s a problem, I guess, I’ve been wearing studs.”

“Mm, studs for a stud,” Bretman chimed in. “Big hoops or little hoops?”

“Uh, little,” Corpse played along. 

“Silver?”

“Yeah…”

“Yes, yeah, that suits my mental image of you, Corpsie-poo. Hold up, lemme just add some length to that hair…”

Sykkuno made a sound of surprise. “Oh Jesus, Bretman’s painting a Corpse face reveal in his mind. That’s illegal!”

Corpse laughed. Illegal, huh?

“Oh-Kay, Sykkuno, don’t go acting all innocent with me. I know you gotta picture of this boy in your mind.”

“Uhhh…”

Corpse was torn between interest and dread. He knew he couldn’t live up to whatever expectations Sykkuno had of him, especially if they were similar to the ideas Bretman seemed to be curating. 

“Tell uuuus,” Bretman insisted. “Don’t be shy.”

Sykkuno huffed a laugh. “I don’t—all I picture when I think of Corpse is a nice smile. Um, sorry if that’s—I just, I mean, I know your smile is nice, Corpse, cause your laugh is so cute, so I’m sure your smile suits it.”

Oh Jesus. Oh _bingus._ Corpse could feel the heat in his cheeks, the tightness in his chest and throat at the compliment. That was such a sweet thing to say, so _Sykkuno,_ even if it wasn’t true. “I—u, um, thanks Sy. Your laughs are really cute too. And your smile is—” ‘ _beautiful,_ ’ Corpse thought, but said, “as… well.”

Bretman made an amused little noise in the background as Sykkuno thanked him in return, voice soft. 

There was a brief period of silence before Bretman suddenly said, “Wait Sykkuno, didn’t you say someone sent some clip-ons to your P.O. Box?”

“Huh? You know about that?”

“I told you I watch your streams too much,” Bretman said casually. Then flirtatiously added, “I like to look at you.”

Sykkuno laughed in surprise, the disbelief clear in his voice when he said, “U-uh huh.” He cleared his throat. “I did try them on. It’s not—they don't look _bad_ , I don’t think, just—I’m not sure if it suits me.”

“Bitch, show us!” 

Corpse let out a startled laugh as Sykkuno spluttered in surprise. He was pretty sure he’d never heard Bretman call Sykkuno that, which probably contributed to the other man’s reaction. 

“Bi—“ Corpse’s breath caught in his throat. “Like the good kind, though, Bret?”

What a fucking tease. Corpse would kill to hear Sykkuno say bitch, or even (maybe _especially)_ fuck.

“That depends,” Bretman said, “are you turning on your camera?”

“Oh Jesus,” Sykkuno laughed. “Okay, okay, give me a minute to go grab them, I’ll be right back.”

Sykkuno’s mic muted. Corpse blinked. They were really gonna get to see what Sykkuno would look like with piercings? Corpse had seen a few edits, but—

“You're _welcome,_ ” Bretman sing-songed. 

Corpse chuckled. “Don’t act like it’s not for your benefit, too.”

Bretman made a wounded noise. “Corpsie-poo, you better start being nicer to me if you expect more good things like this.”

Corpse chuckled. Lowered his voice intentionally, just a bit. “Bret, don’t be like that…”

“Alright, well then tell me what I should _be like._ ”

Corpse was about to answer when the discord screen shifted. Corpse watched Sykkuno come into view. The man’s camera was positioned the same as it always was, but it was larger on discord than he ever blew it up on stream. 

“Oh, okay,” Bretman said. “Can you zoom?”

“Z-zoom?” Sykkuno’s eyes widened. “Um, maybe not…”

It sounded more like a ‘I don’t want to’ then ‘I can’t,’ which Corpse found perfectly fair even though Sykkuno was ridiculously attractive. 

“Turn a bit, then,” Bretman said. “Scoot up to your desk like you’re playing Valorant.”

He pronounced it like Sykkuno did, which made Corpse laugh. He wondered if Bretman even knew it was incorrect. 

“Alright, alright,” Sykkuno said, though he didn’t look annoyed as he adjusted his position and swept aside his bangs.

Sykkuno had put two clip ons on the ear he was showing off, a small, silver hoop very similar to what Corpse was currently sporting, and a black star-shaped stud. Corpse had to admit, they made him look fairly badass. They didn’t exactly suit his personality, but they definitely gave him an edge. 

“This is my ‘intense’ ear,” Sykkuno said, and then turned the other way. His right ear had a pink flower hanging off a short chain, and a pale blue butterfly stud. “This is my ‘cute’ ear. Oh, and that sounds really weird,” he giggled. 

“Oh my God,” Bretman said. “Sykkuno! Work it!”

“E-eh?” Sykkuno turned to face them from his normal angle. “It’s—okay?”

“It looks good,” Corpse agreed. 

“One side is all ‘uwu,’ the other sides all, ‘I’ll fuck you against a wall’.”

Corpse laughed in shock as Sykkuno turned red, eyes growing large as he covered his face and stuttered, “B-Bretman?!”

“Whaaaat? I’m just sayin’, that side is giving off some real top vibes.”

“T-top—” Sykkuno’s fingers spread, covering his eyes briefly, and Corpse could barely watch his reaction through how hard he was laughing. “Quality, yeah, I—I agree. They’re really, um, well made. A-anyway, your ears are pierced too, right Bret?”

“Mm, amongst other things,” Bretman purred. 

“Oh.” Sykkuno blinked. “Like what?”

Corpse wheezed with laughter. Sykkuno’s eyes moved over to what Corpse assumed was the monitor with his discord in surprise, before crinkling a bit at the sound of his mirth. 

“I have my left nipple done,” Bretman said, like mentioning this to _Sykkuno_ of all people was normal. Casual.

“Eh?” Sykkuno tilted his head. “Do you like it?”

Corpse choked on his saliva in surprise. _Holy shit_ —

“It’s nice,” Bretman said. “And not just aesthetically, if you know what I mean, Syyykkuno.”

Corpse watched raptly as Sykkuno blinked once, twice, and then seemed to get it. 

“Oh, for—” he cut himself off. 

“Mmn, it makes them more sensitive,” Bretman said. Holy shit, what was even happening? Who actually had the guts to talk to Sykkuno about sex? Bretman at three in the morning was something else. Corpse had _heard him_ stutter around Sykkuno before. He knew he was affected, at least somewhat. 

Maybe he was drunk, Corpse thought, distantly amused and concerned. 

“Oh,” Sykkuno said, “I probably wouldn’t get that one, then.”

He had been _considering it before now?!_ Corpse could feel his brain melting. 

Wait. Did that mean—was Sykkuno implying—

“Cause they’re already sensitive enough?” Bretman flat out asked. 

“U-umm,” Sykkuno laughed awkwardly, and sweet bingus Corpse wished he couldn’t read the answer so clearly across his face. “Well anyway, you guys think I should do it?”

Corpse’s brain was stuck on the thought of nipple piercings. “I mean, if you’re already that sensitive—“”

“C-Corpse!” Sykkuno’s gasp was mixed with laughter. He flushed, and Corpse tried not to read into how much deeper that red went when it was Corpse saying something like that versus Bretman. “I meant my ears!”

Oh. _Oh,_ of course he had. “Yeah, yeah, o-obviously,” Corpse managed. “Um, it looks good on you, Sykkuno. But, I mean, it’s if _you_ would like it, not if we do.”

Sykkuno hummed, fingering his left ear consideringly. “I mean, I _do_ like them,” he said softly. “But I’m lazy, and I’m not very stylish. Would I have to, like, coordinate my shirts with them?”

“Sykkuno, I will send you so many earrings, girl. I can make you a list of which shirt to wear them with.”

“But it doesn’t _really_ matter,” Corpse added. “You can wear whatever. Your viewers aren’t going to mind.”

“It'll be mostly hidden by my earbuds anyway, right?”

“I can see them fine,” Bretman denied. “The lower ones only kinda-sorta, but the hoop for sure. Would you do double piercings like that, or just one?”

“Hm? I think I like two better,” Sykkuno admitted softly. 

“That’s some hot girl shit,” Bretman praised. Sykkuno laughed in surprise. 

“W-what?”

“Bad bitch energy,” Corpse agreed. Sykkuno laughed harder, covering his mouth. 

“R-really? Well, if Corpse likes it…”

Corpse felt his heart beat a bit harder. What did it matter what he thought? 

“Biiitch,” Bretman drawled. 

Sykkuno continued as though he’d never paused, “and Bret, you’re one of the most stylish people I know…”

“Shut up,” Bretman laughed. “You can just say you want to date me, Sykkuno.”

“I-I… um…”

Something stirred in Corpse’s chest. Despite his discomfort, Sykkuno wasn’t immediately saying no. He was too awkward and too nice, and _reasonably_ Corpse knew that, but...

“I thought you were mine, Sykkuno,” he said without consideration. But then Sykkuno looked directly at his camera, and blinked.

“I… am?”

Oh God. Corpse was _dissolving_. 

Did the other man not remember when he claimed him at the beginning of a game night all those months ago? 

“You said hi to me first,” Corpse responded weakly, and the look—whatever that had been—on Sykkuno’s face melted into something a bit lighter. A small smile. 

“Oh, that’s right! From back then!” He laughed softly. Brushed his hair out of his eyes, again, and fingered the star stud thoughtfully. “Hmm… maybe I’ll wear these for a while and see if I like them before I commit to anything.”

“Or you could just commit to me,” Bretman said slyly. 

Sykkuno let out a soft laugh and looked down at his fingers. “Pretty sure we just established that I’m Corpse’s, though?” he said lightly. 

Corpse didn’t bother stopping the possessive little, “Mine,” that fell from his mouth. Caught the little tilt at one side of Sykkuno's mouth, maybe smug, maybe pleased, _why was this man so hard to read sometimes..._

Bretman sighed dramatically. “Third wheeling? Couldn’t be me!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beep. Boop. Beep.


	15. Underpants, Am I Right?

“It’s okay,” Karl laughed, “Sykkuno talked about his underwear on stream.” 

“Wait, what?” Corpse asked.

“What?” Sykkuno returned innocently. “Well Toast said I had some fancy, Louis Vat-tawn underwear, so I just corrected him.”

“What did you mean by it not matching, though, Sykkuno?” Karl asked, tone teasing. “Do you have a top piece that doesn’t match the bottom, or?”

Sykuno laughed in surprise. “Like a—um, is that what it sounded like? Well. Possibly. Who knows? Nobody but me.”

“I don’t get it,” Tina said, “you talked about your _underwear?_ You talked about your _bra?_ _Sykkuno_?” 

“My—” Sykkuno laughed, “Wha—I mean, it’s not that weird, right? Everyone—or, well, I guess most people—wear underwear, so I—well, Toast brought it up. Not me.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t have to _address it_ ,” Tina exclaimed. “What did he say Karl?” 

“Oh, well he said he prefers a tight fit,” Karl said. “So he gets a size large.” 

Corpse choked on his laughter, while Sykkuno spluttered in surprise. “What—Karl?!” 

“Sounds right,” Corpse agreed.

“ _Corpse?_ ”

“Gross,” Tina complained. “This is why you shouldn’t be talking about your underpants, Sykkuno!” 

“I was—” Sykkuno laughed helplessly. “It wasn’t like—”

“Now somebody is going to send you matching Louis Vatton underwear when you reopen your P.O. Box,” Karl joked.

“Wha— _eh_? I hope not, that’d be a little…” 

“People do be trying to get into Sykkuno’s underwears,” Bretman chimed in. “If you need help looking I can send you links to some matching panty sets, since you think I’m so _stylish_.”

“I-I don’t—” Sykkuno laughed, “I mean, you are, but—uh—black kinda matches with everything, so I'm fine, right?”

“ _Oh_?” Karl said.

“Alright, but _lacy_ black matches even better,” Bretman purred suggestively.

“Well, who said they’re not—” Corpse made a choking sound, and Sykkuno quickly said, between giggles, “Kidding, I’m kidding, probably, anyway—” 

“Deafening, I’m deafening!” Tina yelped. “I gotta get my food from the door!”

Karl’s laughter drowned out the sound of Sykkuno trying to apologize. _“Probably?!”_ he exclaimed, once he’d caught his breath. “Sykkuno!! Fit check!”

Corpse made another sound like he was dying, while Sykkuno asked, “Wait, w-what does that mean?” 

“Oooh Karl, you a baddie,” Bretman said. “Sykkuno ain’t gonna send you nasty pics.” 

“Pics? Wait, but isn’t nasty a good thing, Bret?” 

“I mean, there’s nasty, and then there’s _nasty_ ,” Bretman said. “He’s asking for some underwear selfies. Boys down bad.”

“Wha— _Karl?_ No, no, Karl wouldn’t ask for that.”

“Not for me, for Corpse!” Karl defended.

“I— _what?”_ Corpse squeaked, before going back to his normal decibel. “Shut the fuck up, Karl.” 

“Oh, well if it’s for _Corpse_ ,” Sykkuno said, and then laughed again when Corpse made another dying sound. “That was a joke! Anyway, I just got level 27 in archery! How are you doing, Bret?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 👀I am Thinking. Respectfully.


End file.
